So, I live in Rhode Island, and will be driving up to the convention, but I've heard that Boston has pretty bad traffic.

Was planning on getting to the con as close to 9:00am as possible, so I was going to leave around 7:30am or so, giving myself an hour and a half to drive. Google Maps says it's just over an hour....but potentially up to 2 hours, with "usual traffic" around those times.

Would there be particularly bad traffic around 8:30-9am on Friday and Saturday? Just wanting to know what to expect.

I would leave much, MUCH earlier on Friday if you're planning to get here by 9:00 am. Everyone in the world is trying to come into Boston around that time, and the highways are backed up to come in when I leave Boston at 6:30 in the morning. It's a mess around that hour; coming from RI that may not be enough time. If possible I'd recommend the commuter rail - there's a commuter rail stop right at Back Bay station and that puts you right at the Copley mall, which you just cut through to get to the Hynes. Good luck regardless!

And I won't be in Boston at 6:30, I'd probably get close to Boston on 93 sometime around 8:30. It's not a huge deal if I don't get there EXACTLY at 9, just wanting to get as much con time as I can, without having to wake up super early. :p

I think it is fare to mention that you will be dealing with 2 types of traffic, vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic.

Vehicular Traffic
Checked Waze and according to that, it should take 1.5 hours to 2 hours but I put the start at Providence, RI so that should help you determine the exact time.

Pedestrian Traffic
I am going to assume that you will not be able to pick up your badge until that day. With that said, you will be stuck in 2 lines, the badge line and the line to enter. Of course it will vary but to make things faster, I would personally avoid the Prudential Mall entrance and seek alternative entrances. AB has been really good the past couple of years providing estimated times for each of the entrances on their Twitter account so you may want to check on that from time to time.

Yeah, Google Maps said roughly the same thing, that "usual traffic" would put my travel time between 1hr 20min and 2hr. I live really close to Providence, and will be getting right on route 95.

And yes, I'm not picking my badge up until Friday, but I pre-registered, so that at least speeds up things a little bit.

I've never been to this place before (been to Boston, just not anywhere near the convention center) so I kinda have no idea what anyone is talking about in terms of buildings and entrances, heh. If it helps with directions, I'm going to be parking at the garage here: https://i.imgur.com/KpD5Wvi.jpg

I might just get up at 6am and leave by 6:30 instead, just to make absolute sure that I get to Boston on time.

I'm thinking that I might just drive down Thursday night to pick up my badge, just to save myself from having to do that Friday morning. Would also serve to help me figure out where I need to go beforehand.

....though then I would need to pay for parking a third time. Hm. Is there any cheap 1-2hr parking nearby?

I'm thinking that I might just drive down Thursday night to pick up my badge, just to save myself from having to do that Friday morning. Would also serve to help me figure out where I need to go beforehand.

If at all possible, do this. The line closes Thursday night at 8:30 pm.

I'm thinking that I might just drive down Thursday night to pick up my badge, just to save myself from having to do that Friday morning. Would also serve to help me figure out where I need to go beforehand.

If at all possible, do this. The line closes Thursday night at 8:30 pm.

Yeah, I would, but I don't know where I can park for just a couple of hours. Don't want to spend another $30 for parking when I'm only going to be there for an hour or so.

Wait nevermind I'm a dumbass. I just used the Spot Hero thing and set the time to 3 hours instead of a whole day. $9 parking at the same garage that I'm going to be using for the convention days.

I also recommend leaving earlier than 7:30. 6:30am is best. People around 7-8 are out there commuting to work or school. Friday doors to the con are open at 9am. Badge pick up on Friday is 8:30am I believe. So everyone is already cramming into lines at that hour. But if it's not a rush for you to arrive exactly at 9am then I wouldn't worry about it. Eventually you'll get into the con. And hopefully the security bag checks are efficient this year too.
As for myself, I live an hour and 30 min away from Boston but I will be picking up my pre-reg badge Friday morning. I will be heading out at 6am to hopefully arrive at 7:30ish. Just because I want to drop my car off at the parking and line up early

I've never been to this place before (been to Boston, just not anywhere near the convention center) so I kinda have no idea what anyone is talking about in terms of buildings and entrances, heh. If it helps with directions, I'm going to be parking at the garage here: https://i.imgur.com/KpD5Wvi.jpg

I'm thinking that I might just drive down Thursday night to pick up my badge, just to save myself from having to do that Friday morning. Would also serve to help me figure out where I need to go beforehand.

If at all possible, do this. The line closes Thursday night at 8:30 pm.

Yeah, I would, but I don't know where I can park for just a couple of hours. Don't want to spend another $30 for parking when I'm only going to be there for an hour or so.

Wait nevermind I'm a dumbass. I just used the Spot Hero thing and set the time to 3 hours instead of a whole day. $9 parking at the same garage that I'm going to be using for the convention days.

Do note that there is street parking around if you want to try your luck with it. Mostly along Boylston Street and in the surrounding side streets. Although to be fair, its $3.50/hr in the Back Bay area mostly so you might be better off with spothero if you need the extra hour.

Eh, I'm stingy with my money. Especially since I don't have a job at the moment. Would rather pay ~$15 in gas and $50 for parking($25 for each day), rather than $350+ for a hotel. The cheapest hotels I could find that were relatively close, were like $180 a night, which was way more than what I pay for hotels in Baltimore.

But depending on how good/bad this goes, I might consider just taking the train next year.

Nah, coffee milk is gross, as heretical as it is to say that as a Rhode Islander.

I drink instant coffee, French Vanilla flavor. It doesn't exactly taste *good*, but it's tolerable. My issue is that almost every single coffee I've tried is just overwhelmingly bitter and I can't stand the flavor, but this stuff doesn't seem to be very bitter at all.

Well, that wasn't too bad. Driving up to Boston to pick up my ticket was easy enough. There was very little traffic on the way in (route 95 -> mass pike), just some usual traffic near Providence on 95, though on the way back there was heavy traffic all along route 93, which didn't clear up until I got to 95.

Going there, from my driveway -> Back Bay garage was approximately 1hr20min. Going back home was approximately 1hr45min. So I know that even with traffic, it's not going to be more than 2 hours, so leaving at 7am to head to the con sounds good enough.

So, uh...what traffic? I left my house at 7:02am and arrived at the Back Bay garage at roughly 8:10am. There was almost no traffic, even when I was driving through Boston on the mass pike. I don't think I ever dropped below 40 mph on the highway. (except for sharp turn exit ramps, ofc)

Furthermore, I got to the convention center right at 9am sharp, and there was no line at all to get in at the Boyleston Street entrance. None. Just showed badge, walked in and went right through the metal detector.

So, uh...what traffic? I left my house at 7:02am and arrived at the Back Bay garage at roughly 8:10am. There was almost no traffic, even when I was driving through Boston on the mass pike. I don't think I ever dropped below 40 mph on the highway. (except for sharp turn exit ramps, ofc)

Furthermore, I got to the convention center right at 9am sharp, and there was no line at all to get in at the Boyleston Street entrance. None. Just showed badge, walked in and went right through the metal detector.

Guess I don't have to wake up at 6:30am tomorrow, then

All the people ended up going through the Prudential Center Entrance but even that was fast thanks to the multiple metal detectors they had on that side.